One-fourth to warren f



Nov. 19, 1929. w. J. ARING ET AL BANK VAULT STRUCTURE Filed March 31.1926 2 Sheets-Sheet $7 QMS Nov. 19, 1929. w. J. ARING Er A1.

BANK VAULT STRUCTURE Filed March 31, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORSWalier J. rl'ng Patented Nov. 19, 1929 U'N-rrEn STAT-E541 PATE@ WALTERJ. ARINe, or CLEVELAND AND Winnrnivr Annata or AKRON,

omo, AssIGNoRaBY DIRECTAND MEsNE AssrcNivrENrs, or ONE'roURTH ro WIL-LIAME. ADAMS, or AKRON, 0R10, ONE-rennen r.ro WARREN r. MosMAN, or EAsrCLEVELAND, OHIO, AND ONE-HALE To sA'ID vARrNe BANK-vAnLr STRUCTUREApplication led March 31, 19265 This invention relates to an improved`bank vault structure and` is; particularly advantageous in branch i or.neighborhood banks Whichare increasing so rapidly in number 5k iii-.theout-lying: districts of the larger cities.

Heretofore it has been the practice, in the construction ofibranchbanks,to include the vaultlas. a .permanentpart ofthe main building, thereinforced :concrete outside walls Vof 10, the bank building definingthe dimensions of thevault area, and the metal T'lining of thevaultbeing secured to the inner faces of thev Walls after the walls areup. It is understood, of "course, that; the vault.I area accommodates15g-not `onlyth'e safety.v deposit bones but also affords storage: spacefor trunks, etc. With the old'style of building and method of con#structingthesame, as'fjust referred to, it is ofc'ourse-amatter-of'conjecture asto the proper areatto allow forthevault, taking into consideration the anticipated growth ofV the bankfandf1 the increased demand for. vault space.` Accordingly, itfis necessary,at the time of'construction to allow a substantial eX- cess of`vaultareaito'itake care of future demands; otherwise: it will [sooneror later be necessary7 to tea'noutthe reinforced' concrete wall ofxthebank buildinginf order to enlarge theivault area. However, theprovisionand reservation. of asubstantial excess area for future expansioninvolves the carrying of such excess area, or a great part of it, for aconsiderablev period Iof time, perhaps years,

without any` financial'y return. The result is. that, faccordingrtoactual experience, banking concernsgenerallyclassify their vaults asliabilities :ratherthanfassets Itis.thereforethe object ofthis'invention toprovidearvaultistructure in which itis pos- 40= sibleto extendthe area of the same from time to time asf may becom'eInecessary and without thexvery. laborious and expensive task oftearingldown and'freconstructing a reinforced.,` concrete wall'of lthebank buildingproper.

i In:other-Wfnsda` the present invention is intended to. change thebankvaultA from a liability to an iassetf by renderingthesame read-- ily.expansible or -contractible Morespecifically, it is our objectfinconstruetingf vault, to" first f connect together Serial No. 984,825.-A

the desired number of standardized steel metal plates which, accordingto' our invention, will be keptin stock.V y i It is also an objectof'this invention to provide a'means for automatically extinguishing theflame of a torch infthe processfof attempting to burglarize the vault,this object being accomplished by means of shallovs7 deadair spacesbetween the inner and outer plates. More specifically, such means`comprises a plurality of integrallyformed and suitably spaced pockets,the walls off'whichserve also as a reinforcing meansin themain Wallstructure.

, Fig. l is a perspective view, partly broken away; rFig. 2 is atransverse sectional view taken on line 2 2 of Fig. l; Fig. 3 is adetail partial view of an outer plate; and Fig. 4 `is a perspectivepartial view ofa modified form ofiour invention. i

It is to be understood lthat our improved, vault may be set up withinthe bank structure proper andwholly independent of the main Walls of thebank building.- Thus, our vault is a portable, sectional structurecomprising detachably connected platesV off standardized form.

The four side walls as well as the top and bottom walls of our vault areofl like construction; Each Wall comprises a plurality of outer plates lof one and one-half inch torch-resistingv steel, and inner plates 2 ofone-half inch open-hearth steel. In our .first form of invention,theinner'plates lare allv of the. same dimensions, eziceptmgj theVauxiliary platesy 2a at the corners, these smaller plates beinghalf-width 'I`he"outer plates'are allpof- Jthe same dimensions. Thesidewall plates-extendover the edges of theV top and bottom plates, andthe end plates extend over' the 'edges of thesidewall plates.

Gal

rlhe inner and outer plates, in each case, abut each other, the jointsor the inner and outer sets being out of registry or in other n'ords instaggered relation. The inner and outer plates are connected in suchoverlapping relation by means of removable screw bolts 3, the manner ofdrilling and tapping the bolt holes being described below. The platesare detachably connected at the corners by means of angle members 4which are also bolted in position. The tiling 5 surrounds the four sideWalls and covers the top Wall as well. Tiling may also be provided forthe bottom wall of the vault, or the bottom of the vault may restdirectly upon the floor of the bank building.

In the modified form of' invention shown in F i g. Ll, the auxilaryplates 2 are omitted and the angle members e are arranged on the insidein such a manner that the flanges of the angle members abut the adjacentinner plates 2 se as to perform the function of the auxiliary plates asWell. In other Words, in this modified form of structure, the anglYmembers perform two functionsnamely that oit' connecting the partstogether at the corners and also the function of the auxiliary plates2a. rllhus, in this particular form of structure, all of the plates,both inner and outer, are of the same Width and are therefore of`uniform dimensions throughout.

In both forms of' our invention, the bolt holes are so spaced that theycan be drilled and tapped with a pair of inner and outer plates lying inthe same overlapping relation as in the assembled structure. rllhis willbe understood when, for instance, the first hole is spaced 3 inches`from the edge of the plate and the succeeding holes are spaced l2inches, 6 inches, 12 inches and 3 inches, respectively. across a 36 inchwidth plate. This arrangement of holes is illustrated in Fig. 2 of thedrawing. lilith this relative arrangement of plates and bolt holes, thesame set-up ot template and jig can be used throughout and theoperations are thereby reduced to a minimum. And because ot thisstandardization of plates andv the relative arrangement of theconnecting means therefor, the cost of labor is kept down to a minimum.

In order to enlarge the vault, for instance in the lirst form ofinvention as here illustrated, the tile wall is first removed at the oneend and the end wall plates are removed together With the auxiliaryplates 2t. rllhen one or more full Width inner plates can be added withthe accompanying outer plates 1, according to the increased areadesired, and the end Wall can then be restored With the auxiliary innerplates 2a. Finally, the tile Wall will be replaced. Or, in the case ofthe nodified form of our invention. the tiling and plates at one end ofthe vault Will be removed, together with the corner angle members, thedesired number of side Wall plates added, and the end Wall thenrestored.

In extending either of the two forms of vault structure, as will beapparent, the same overlapping ot the inner and outer plates will bepreserved, the one half of the additional inner plate taking the placeof the auxiliary plate in the one case; While in the other case, itreplaces the corresponding 'flange of the angle member. Thus, theadditional combination of an inner and an outer plate arranged inoverlapping relation, might he regarded as a Wall unit; and it is te beunderstood that any number of such units may be added, according to theenlargement of vault area desired. From the above description ot' thebolt holes, it Will he seen that the attachment olf one or more suchWall units, with the holes already drilled and tapped, is acomparatively simple matter.

lilith the overlapping arrangement of the inner and outer plates, asshown and described, these tivo sets of plates can be bolted together toforni the several individual Walls, Without requiring any furthersecuring means, so far as the Walls themselves are concerned. With thisarrangement, it is also possible to have the plates of each set, (innerand outer), in abutting relation, with the result that the plates lieflush With each other throughout the entire structure. Furthermore, inthe modified form ot our invention, as shown in Fig. 4, the flange otthe corner angle members are also flush with the inner plates.

The angle members may be made of either open-hearth steel ortorch-resisting steel, and oit the desired gauge, according to Whetherthey are placed on the inside or outside of the vault structure. lVhenplaced on the outside, they willv preferably he made of torchresistingsteel, and when on the inside, they will be of the same gauge ofopenhearth steel as the plates l, so as to lie flush therewith. Othercompositions of metal may of course be used.

As a further means of securing the vault against unauthorized tampering,as for instance With the familiar Oxy-acetylene torch, We have so formedthe inner faces of the outer plates l that when assembled With the innerplates 2, there will be formed the dead-air spaces 6. The purpose ofsuch shallow7 dead air spaces or pockets is to extinguish the flame of atorch as soon as it reaches this peint. rlhese pockets are so loca-tedthat they Will not extend across or communicate With the joints betweenthe inner plates. It is to be understood that the number of thesepockets maybe increased as may be desired. These spaces or pockets donot communicate with ach other or With the outside atmosphere and hencethey have no fresh air supply or means of ventilation, and the hotproducts of eom,

lll)

i sary from time to time, will not interfere withticallyiminediately.uponu'eachingzthe shallowz:

restricte'dpockjetiA Sinceihesepoc-kets:do not communicate buti'arefindependen ofeach.; other, it will be seen that;therblowingifofxaisecond hol-e;@througlnthepiate.atta .apoint fremovedfifrom the;`first,"v will.`merely2lead :to aniF other `dead-atri` pooketff. and.will not open upf` aa circulation i of?. air through such?.delad-.airspaces?. By increasing.` thev'number; ofi such'.pockets;.tlievdangerfof there. beingzcreated* circulation: thi-oughthe1deadair.space' mayf.;V

be reduced` to u anH extreme: minimum.'v The walls; 6a hetweenifthezdeadgairvpockets (serve: alsoas a fm'eansofreinforcing thzelwalllitself; If .so desiredg-th'edeadairf pocketsfmay-be soV arranged thatthe bol hiole'sz'- will extend` through; only, ther;l fullo portions:69,' i although they are here shown as extending throughthe dead-airpocketsry `Tfli'e plates:- G are cast with the closed end portions 69.1.

This vault structure, as herein set forth, meets the requirements of theunderwriters and, for the reasons above stated, it enables the bank torealize a profit on what has heretofore proved al financial loss.

Another advantage consists in the possibility of placing the vault in aposition other than that at the extreme rear of the bank building, whichis true of the form of structure now in use. This objectionablesituation v is due, as above explained, to the fact that the vault isconstructed as an integral part of the bank building itself, and byallowing excess space for additional cages, etc., in the bank lobby, thevault is, according to the old j practice, forced to occupy a positionaway from the front and hence out of full View. The present invention,which enables the vault to be located wherever desired, independently ofthe size of the bank building,

means therefore an increased degree of safety due to the lesencd dangerof attempts at burglarv.

Furthermore, Whereas, with the style of structure new in use, it 1simpossible to continuethe vault service uninterruptedly during anenlargement of the bank building, for reasons already explained, withthe independent vault structure'the tearing out and extending f the bankwalls, as may be found necestl-ievault: itselff The presentl improvedvault, structure can be movedfr'om one-position. toV another fon the Ibankzfloon, asfmaycbe desired.

Thus, with our improved vault structure, the capacity ofthe bank propercanbe expanded. from timef-totime without interrupting the vaultservice. In afword, ouristyleiof vault: makes-its possible to keepthecapacitiesof-the banklobby and vault-in'proper.step'with eachotherlsduringthe growth ofthe bank, and

without Ithe excessive overhead carrying', ex#

pense?y orvinterruption: of service.

A further yadvantage f of Tour invention resides in the fact that it ispossible, in` moving` aivault'. to'remove the several walls as assembledunits without the necessity; Ofcom-.- pletely dismantling eachv wallintolits componentwparts; c This -means a great'y savingV in times;and`labor; as vwell asV material, as comparedwith theLOld practice. which ismade necessary-.bythe style offvanltstructure now infnse.- c

t is to-heunderstood;V ofcourse, that'the. specific rdimensions:of-partsmight vary from the present showing, without departing .from theessenceof-ourinvention, the exact :embodiment," as Aherein. setforth, beingintended; merely forfpurposes vof illustration., It is tov be understoodalso `that ourimproved vault:` may be divided into vthe nsualcompartments, as may-be desired, the illustration ofipartitions-beingomitted from the :present drawin so .as tozavoidv possible. confusioni:

l.v Abank; 'vault structure .comprising detachably.` connected multipleunits, said 'units being standardizedfin sizeand uniform in` shape,throughoutY the .entire ystructure and being.; provide'd1 witln uniformsecuring means, whereby. the capacityy of: the: vault may bel readilycontractedor expandedat': will by the subtractionor addition ofstandardized units;

QQInx-a bank.. vault` structure, sets of inner'andouter-wallplates, theplates of each set being' of standardized size and shape throughout,uniform means for. detachably connecting; the inner and outerplatesofeach wall; in` staggered butt-jointA arrangement. with each other, and.uniform meansfor detachablyzconnectingthe several walls, where# byI the.i capacity of: the vault may be readily contracted or expanded'. atiwillwby` the sub# tractionv orf addition ofy standardized wall units.`

3; A bank, vault structure comprising a4 plurality of walls,` each. Wallhtwing` detach'- ably connected multiple units, said units*beingstandardized'i throughout ther entire structure and being providedwith uniforme ly arrangedzsecuring means,nsaid' plates and securingVmeans bein-grise constructed andar rangedwith respect to1each-yotherwthat the area.. of: the-.vault can: be variedaby:` therad-.rdition orfsubtr-action ofi one Vor more prede` KEG termined unitsWithout disturbing the uniformity of said units.

Il. In a bank vault structure, sets of inner and outer main Wall platesof uniform size and shape, said inner and outer plates being arrangedVso as to overlap each other partially, auxiliary plates of a Widthcorresponding to the extent of overlap between said inner and outerplates, and uniform means for securing said plates together, whereby thearea of the vault can be varied by the ready addition or subtraction ofone or more combinations of inner and outer main Wall plates.

5. In a bank vault structure, sets of inner and outer Wall plates, theplates of each set being of standardized size and shape throughout,uniform means for detachably connecting the inner and outer plates instaggered butt-joint arrangement With each other and for detachablyconnecting the several Walls together, whereby the capacity of the vaultmay be readily contracted or expanded at Will by the substraction oraddition of standardized Wall units.

6. In a bank vault structure, sets of inner and Outer Wall plates, theplates of each setbeing of standardized size and shape throughout,uniform means for detaehably connecting the inner and outer plates ofeach Wall in staggered butt-joint arrangement with each other, theplates of one set extending beyond those of the other set at thecorners, and detachable angle members arranged flush with the plates forconnecting the several Walls at the corners, whereby the capacity of thevault may be readily oontraeted or expanded at Will by the subtractionor addition of standardized Wall units.

7. In a bank vault structure, sets of inner and outer Wall plates, theplates of each set being arranged in abutting relation. and the jointsof the sets being out of registry with each other, adjacent plates beingprovided with dead-air pockets therebetween, said pockets being arrangedbetween and out of communication with said joints.

8. In a bank vault structure, a self-contained and self-supportinglining composed of a plurality of Walls, each Wall comprising aplurality of detachably connected multiple units, said units beingstandardized throughout the entire structure and being provided withuniform securing means` said parts being so constructed and arrangedthat the completely assembled liningstrueture is readily and bodilymovable as a unit and is readily expansible or contraetible by theaddition or subtraction of standardized wall units.

9. A bank vault structure consisting of a self-contained andselfsupporting lining, said lining being composed of a plurality ofWalls, each Wall comprising a plurality of detachably connected multipleunits, said units being standardized throughout the entire structure andbeing provided with uniform securing means, said parts being soconstructed and arranged that the completely assembled lining structureis readily and bodily movable as a unit and is readily expansible oreontractible by the addition or subtraction of standardized Wall units,and a surrounding Wall structure of tiling or the like enclosing saidlining.

10. A bank vault structure comprising a plurality of Walls, each Wallhaving detachably connected inner and outer plates, said plates beingstandardized in size and shape and being provided with uniformlyarranged bolt holes throughout the entire structure, whereby the Wallplates may be yreadily added or subtracted.

11. In a bank vault structure, sets of inner and outer wall plates, theplates of each set beingofstandardized size and shape throughout, all ofsaid plates being provided with uniformly arranged bolt holes fordetachably connecting the inner and outer plates of each Wall .instaggered butt-joint arrangement With each other, and means fordetachably connecting the several Walls, Whereby the capacity of thevault may be readily contracted or expanded by the subtraction oraddition of Wall plates.

In testimony whereof We affix our signatures.

WALTER J. ARING. WILLIAM E. ADAMS.

